


No Splendour, Gold, Or Pomp

by amyfortuna



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Kissing, Nargothrond, SilmLadyLove Femslash Lottery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 03:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8828605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amyfortuna/pseuds/amyfortuna
Summary: Finduilas reflects on the differences between her life in Nargothrond and her life now.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: _Give me no splendour, gold, or pomp_.

The woods were silent in the early light of dawn, and Finduilas, having awakened early, lay beside Niënor on their bed of furs, twisting a lock of the mortal's golden hair around her finger as a ring. 

In a life that seemed an age ago, she had been a princess, and it seemed that every day she received a new gift of gems or gold from her father, or one of her friends, or someone who wished to curry favour with her. All those gifts were gone, lost to dragon fire, and from the beauty of Nargothrond, where every corner and cranny had been carved out to smooth and perfect splendour, she had come to dwell in a rough cave. From dining on the finest food Beleriand had to offer amid pomp and ceremony, she now hunted for what she could find, gathered berries and fruit in season, and often went hungry, giving what little they had over to Niënor's greater needs. 

Her hair had become matted and had to be roughly cut off with one of her knives. Her clothes, once the finest and fairest garments in Nargothrond, were now the bare remnants of what she had managed to gather from less lucky souls, or crudely stitched together furs. Once upon a time she'd taken luxuriously warm baths whenever she pleased, and now she counted herself fortunate to be able to take a quick, cold, bath in a forest pond every few days, and far fewer times in the winter. Her bed, once a masterpiece of carved wood and soft mattress with feather pillows and down quilts, was now a mere pile of furs in a smoky corner of a cave. 

Niënor stirred a little, murmuring in her sleep, and Finduilas stroked a warm hand down her back, soothing her back into dreams. For one year they had been making a life together, through Orc attacks, through the cold of winter, through weeks of near-starvation, through injury and the ever-present fear for Niënor's lost memories. As a contrast with her old life, the difference was stark, and she reflected that her past self would not have known her, would have mistaken her for some wild elf of the woods, save for the light in her eyes. 

And yet she had survived. She was not the same pampered princess of those times, but someone harder, someone brighter. She had gone from never knowing what she wanted, never being able to be sure about her future, to someone who could make life-changing decisions in the blink of an eye. So it had been when she, scouting carefully near Nargothrond because of the rumours of the dragon's movements, came across Niënor wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. Without a second thought or a single doubt, she took her by the hand and led her away, and together they had dwelt in this cave since that day. So it had been when Niënor, laughing, bent and kissed her for the first time. Without hesitation, she kissed back again, delighting in the joy of love that washed over her then. 

So it was now when Niënor stirred again, coming fully awake, and turned into her embrace, stretching lazily. Without a second thought, Finduilas leaned in and kissed her, feeling the warmth of her sinking down into her bones. 

Her eyes shining with happiness, Niënor whispered, "Good morning, sunshine." She had adopted the pet name after Finduilas cut her hair, saying that the short curls she was left with resembled nothing quite so much as the bright rays of the sun. 

Finduilas smiled and whispered back, "I'm glad to be waking up with you."


End file.
